Some of the most difficult coworkers are those who are way too demanding.

So, what would you do if a new hire constantly undermined your expertise, dismissed your role, and treated you like their personal assistant? Would you just roll with it? Or would you find a way to make them realize just how much they rely on you?

In today’s story, an IT manager finds himself dealing with this exact situation and reaches his breaking point after months of dealing with a new employee. Here’s what happened.

You need me for a lot more than you realize

Back in the day, I was an IT manager for a design group for 25 years.

The group designed integrated circuits and were a bunch of very smart people. It also takes smarts to keep the computers, networks, and design software running for 400 people (my job).

At least once a year, we’d get a new college grad who made my life hard with their demands.

I gave them 3 months to get settled in and get “normalized.” Less time for trying to make me look bad to their boss for ridiculous demands.

One employee pushed the boundary way too far.

One specific newbie outdid himself, and at the 3-month mark, I flatly told him he’d reached my limit of patience and to run everything by his boss before asking for ANYTHING else (hardware, software, how-to’s, hand-holding).

After that, the boss would cc me on his responses, which were mostly “No” or “Ask one of the more experienced designers to show you.”

I walked by a few times, and he was complaining and getting laughed at by his more experienced teammates.

He eventually apologized!

It took about 9 more months before he pretty much humbled himself and apologized to me.

It was very satisfying.

We became friends, and he’s had a lot of great design successes.

Yikes! It’s never fun to learn the hard way, but it sounds like he DID learn.

Let’s take a look at how Reddit readers weigh in on this story.

Harsh but true!

This person wants an example.

Here’s someone who’s self-sufficient.

Not always, but sometimes.

Dealing with him must’ve been annoying.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.